NC State basketball shocks Duke: 5 takeaways from the Wolfpack’s ACC Tournament upset
Magical or unexpected, it doesn’t matter. N.C. State’s ACC Tournament run has reached an unprecedented level.
The No. 10 seed Wolfpack won for the third night in a row Thursday, toppling No. 2-seed and 11th-ranked Duke, 74-69, to reach the ACC Tournament semifinals.
N.C. State becomes the first double-digit seed in tournament history to win three games and reach the semifinal round. The Wolfpack (20-14) will play either No. 3 seed Virginia or No. 11 seed Boston College on Friday night with an ACC championship game berth on the line.
“We’re the only ones who chose us,” N.C. State’s Mo Diarra said. “Nobody chose us when we got in on Tuesday. Nobody trusted we were going to beat (Louisville). Nobody thought we were going to beat Syracuse. Nobody thought we were going to beat Duke. We’re a great team, and we’re going to be back tomorrow.”
Duke (24-8) heads home to await Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show and learn its next opponent.
DJ Horne came off the bench to score 18 points for the Wolfpack, which lost its final four games of the regular season. Diarra added 14 while Michael O’Connell had 12 and Casey Morsell 11 points.
Kyle Filipowski scored a game-high 28 points for Duke before fouling out. Mark Mitchell scored 18 points and Tyrese Proctor 10 for the Blue Devils, who shot 43.1% but only hit 5 of 20 3-pointers (25%)
NC State scored the final five points of the first half to lead 35-32 at intermission and extended its run to 11 consecutive points to lead 41-32 with 17:13 remaining in the game.
That was one of four times the Wolfpack led by nine points early in the second half. Trailing 48-39, Duke made a surge by scoring on six consecutive possessions. Filipowski had three baskets during that stretch and his free throw with 10:06 left sliced the NC State lead to 55-51.
But Duke was in the midst of going nearly five minutes without a field goal and NC State took advantage to build its lead again. Morsell’s slam dunk on an NC State fast break following Filipowski’s missed 3-pointer put the Wolfpack up 62-52 with 6:20 to play.
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Duke cut the Wolfpack lead to 71-67 on a Jared McCain free throw with 30.3 seconds to play. A Filipowski basket with 19.7 second left trimmed the Wolfpack lead to 71-69. But Horne sank a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
NC State slays at 3-point line
When the Blue Devils beat the Wolfpack, 79-64, in Raleigh on March 4, NC State attempted just nine 3-pointers, making three. That’s while DJ Burns was scoring 27 points inside. Duke didn’t like that, but gladly took the tradeoff to shut down the Wolfpack’s 3-point shooting in what ended up a comfortable Duke win.
Thursday night, the Wolfpack took more 3-pointers in the first half than they did the entire game last week. NC State hit 5 of 11 before halftime as it took a 35-32 lead
N.C. State didn’t rely on 3-pointers as much in the second half, attempting only five. But the Pack made two to finish 7of 16 (43.8%) for the game.
Pack carries urgency into quarterfinals
The Wolfpack had already played two games entering Thursday, but its effort showed no signs of slowing down against the in-state rival.
N.C. State’s defense forced two turnovers to begin the contest, before turning that into four steals and two blocks at halftime. The Pack’s defense forced six Duke turnovers — more than the Blue Devils committed in the entire regular season outing — and a three point lead going into the break.
It struggled against Duke in the rebounding effort, trailing the Blue Devils, 20-16 and only recording one offensive board. That offensive rebound, however, came after Diarra missed a layup and turned the miss into a corner 3.
The Wolfpack started the second half on a 6-0 run and never relinquished its lead, despite Duke’s comeback efforts.
There was pride attached to N.C. State’s performance — especially because it lost to Duke at home — and the games mean more to the Pack.
“We just want to keep our season alive, man,” Horne said on Wednesday. “We know what this means for us as far as winning this and what it can do for us. So that’s our ultimate goal.”
The Blue Devils will make the NCAA field of 68, regardless of ACC Tournament results. The Wolfpack needs every win it can get.
“We knew that once tournament time came we were gonna fight for us,” Burns said. “We’re gonna fight every single game left.”
Be like Mike and Mo
O’Connell and Diarra buoyed the Wolfpack in its second outing against Duke, both providing impressive moves on both ends of the floor.
O’Connell served as a floor general, running offense and providing front-line defense, especially when the Pack ran its press. The graduate student finished with 12 points and four assists, shooting 2 of 2 from 3.
His performance comes after scoring 16 points and dishing out three assists in each of the Pack’s two previous games. O’Connell entered the game shooting 4 of 6 from 3-point range after making all three attempts against Syracuse.
“He is able to get us in our offense and really control the pace of the game like I haven’t seen a lot of guards do,” Ben Middlebrooks said. “Honestly, with his knowledge of the game, his IQ, the passes he makes — I love playing with him. I love playing with Mike on the court, for sure.”
Diarra finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, but his efficacy came from more than that.
The Missouri transfer contributed size and length, disrupting the Blue Devils’ scheme for most of the game. He added four blocks and three steals on the defensive end.
Diarra also wasn’t afraid to get busy on offense. The forward missed a layup with 4:19 remaining in the first half but turned it into a second-chance corner 3. He added an assist with 6:20 in the second half, kicking the ball out to Morsell for the score.
Caleb Foster remains out
Duke played its fifth consecutive game without freshman guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a right foot injury on Feb. 24 when the Blue Devils lost, 83-79, at Wake Forest.
Foster remained out of uniform, wearing a protective boot on his right foot. But he was no longer using the scooter to move around and prevent himself from bearing weight on the foot.
Prior to his injury, Foster started 15 times in his 27 appearances for the Blue Devils. He averaged 7.7 points while making 43.7% of his 3-pointers.
Duke and halftime deficits
Thursday night marked the eighth time this season the Blue Devils trailed at halftime. During the regular season, the only time Duke won when it was behind at intermission was on Nov. 24 when Southern Indiana led 35-31 at halftime. Duke won that game, 80-62.
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 9:17 PM with the headline "NC State basketball shocks Duke: 5 takeaways from the Wolfpack’s ACC Tournament upset."